CHILDREN OF GOD, THE MUSICAL Plays MITF July 13-31

The Midtown International Theatre Festival presents Children of GOD, The Musical, a modern musical mash-up of inspiration for the next generation written by Charles B. Murray, IV. Tony Award-winner Ben Harney directs a cast of nine including Nathan Lucrezio*, Ashley Taylor*, Jennie Harney*, Keith Antone, Starlett Brown, Gian-Carla Tisera, Paul Geiger*, Stephen Glavin*, and Charles Bernard Murray*. Performances for Children of GOD, The Musical, will be held at The June Havoc Theatre, 312 West 36th Street in New York City for five performances from July 13-31, 2011. AEA Showcase. *Member, Actors' Equity Association.

Children of GOD, The Musical is an unforgettable story of hope told through the struggles of three amazing teenagers highlighted in song and dance. These Children of GOD will capture your heart as you follow a week in the lives of three amazing teenagers. DC is being raised by his step father, Tunica only has her grandmother and Will is in Foster Care. Each of them is significantly special and gifted, they each deserve a chance; all three are Children of God! The saying "It takes a whole Village to raise a Child" has significantly more meaning in this day and age. Children of GOD not only inspires our youth but challenges every adult to become involved in their development.

Author and Composer Charles Murray has worked with teenagers and many at risk young people for over 20 years. Children of GOD is a story of hope inspired through real-life experiences.

Children of GOD, The Musical is presented by The Midtown International Theatre Festival. Director: Ben Harney; Musical Director: Charles Czarnecki; Choreographer: Daryl Richardson­­­­­­­­­­­­; Publicist: Paul Siebold/Off Off PR.

Children of GOD, The Musical plays for five performances on the following schedule: Wednesday July 13th @ 8:30 pm; Tuesday July 19th @ 8:30 pm; Sunday July 24th @ 5:30 pm; Saturday July 30th @ 12:30 pm; Sunday July 31st @ 5:30 pm.

Director Ben Harney began his Broadway and television career in 1971. Performance credits include: Purlie, Don't Bother Me I Can't Cope, Pajama Game (1974 revival), The Wiz, Treemonisha, Pippin, Ain't Misbehavin', Dreamgirls (Tony Award - Best Actor in a Musical, Drama Desk Award nomination for Best Actor), Tap Dance Kid (Bay Circle Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor, NAACP Image Award nomination), Brownstone, Williams and Walker (AUDELCO Award nomination for Best Actor) and District Attorney Peter Ramsey on ABC's "All My Children." His children's video series, Ben & Eddie was released in 1990. Born in Brooklyn, NY, Ben Harney attended LaGuardia High School for Music and Art and Juilliard. He is Founder, Director of By All Means Save Some (BAMSS) Theatre Works, home of BAMSS Productions, BAMSS Youth Theatre Ensemble (BYTE), BAMSS Adult Repertory Company (BARC) and BAMSS Musical Theatre Workshops. BAMSS is a contracted vendor with the New York City Department of Education. Mr. Harney has directed and developed projects for Urban Stages, The Police Athletic League (PAL), Great Day Chorale, Johnson Products, Lincoln Center Festival '99 and News Corp. He has directed and taught as Artist-in-Residence at Fordham University Lincoln Center, NYC, Visiting-Assistant Professor at Medgar Evers College, Brooklyn, NY, Harvest School of Performing Arts, Los Angeles, CA, Director of the Drama Department, and special youth and adult productions at Christian Cultural Center, Brooklyn, NY.

Author/Composer CB Murray started his career in New York City as a teenager working with the A.M.A.S. Repertory Company under Rosette LeNoire. He has performed in Off Broadway shows directed by Louis Johnson, Israel Hicks and Arthur Faria; made his Broadway debut in the Michael Bennett's original company of Dreamgirls in 1981; he was also on Broadway in the musical Honky Tonk Nights. CB is currently performing with 8 is Never Enough in the Off Broadway Hit Comedy "LMAO" at the Times Square Arts Center. He has performed at Carnegie Hall, in films, on television, in videos and on stages around the world. Charles is an accomplished producer, singer, actor, director, choreographer, published composer and author. CB is the Pastor of Kingdom of God Ministries, Jersey City, NJ. His new book "Prosperity of the Soul: The Evolution of Man" is now available on amazon.com.

Tickets are $18 for adults, $15 for students and seniors and can be purchased by visiting http://www.midtownfestival.org.

The run time for Children of GOD, The Musical is Two Hours with one 15 minute intermission.

The Midtown International Theatre Festival's 2011 Season runs from July 11 - 31 at the June Havoc Theatre, 312 W. 36th Street, 1st floor; the Dorothy Strelsin Theatre, 312 W. 36th Street, 1st floor; the Main Stage Theater, 312 W. 36th Street, 4th floor; and the Jewel Box Theater, 312 W. 36th Street, 4th floor. Tickets are $18-15 and are available at www.midtownfestival.org or by phone at 866-811-4111.

The Midtown International Theatre Festival, now in its twelfth year, celebrates the diversity of theatre. The MITF welcomes theatrical storytelling across a broad spectrum of genres, forms, identities, cultures, and appetites. The MITF seeks to nurture these new ideas, perspectives, and stories on its stages, with an eye set on guiding these productions toward future success and longevity. The festival, traditionally held in summer, represents a fantastic, often paradoxical, adventurous and intriguing cross-section of the forefront of the Theatre World. The MITF proudly hosts production companies from across the country and around the globe, uniting talent in one of the biggest theatre capitals in the world.

John Chatterton created the MITF in 2000, a Midtown alternative to other theatre festivals, as a way to present the finest off-off Broadway talent in convenience, comfort, and safety. In 2008, the Festival added two 99-seat theatres and inaugurated the Commercial Division for upwardly mobile shows with commercial ambitions.

For more information, visit www.midtownfestival.org.

 

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